Will new North Carolina law cost Governor McCrory the election?

A new poll sponsored by North Carolina’s WRAL-TV shows Democrat Attorney General Roy Cooper leading in the race for the Governor’s mansion. Paired against incumbent Republican governor Pat McCrory, who supports and signed the state’s new religious exemptions bill allowing discrimination against LGBT people, Cooper now has a 4% lead in the gubernatorial race.

Cooper, who opposes the law and has called for its repeal, is leading the race 47% to 43% currently after the state has been hammered nonstop by corporations, celebrities, and activists since HB2 was signed into law hours after it was passed through a one day special session of the state legislature.

50% of likely voters oppose the new law while only 38% support it. A majority of Charlotte and Greensboro voters oppose the law while a plurality oppose it in Raleigh and southern and coastal North Carolina. 61% of voters think the law has hurt the state’s image and ability to attract business nationally.

Governor McCrory’s net approval rating now stands at -4% in contrast to Cooper’s 28%. McCrory’s support is coming mostly from white conservative voters while Cooper takes African-American voters by an 8 to 1 margin.

86% of the respondents said they knew someone who is gay or lesbian while 25% knew a transgender person.